Honey Scented Black Tea – Oollo Tea

Fancy presentation of the ice and hot brewed tea side by side. Iced one with strawberries.

Basic info about this special tea:
Qingxin Oolong Varietal
2017 Winter Tea
From Pinglin, New Taipei, in Taiwan
400 m Elevation Above Sea Level.
Temperature ( 97-98 degrees celsius)
Brewing Vessel (Japanese Red Clay Kyusu)
Grams of Leaves ( 5 grams)
Steeping Time ( less than 10 seconds per infusion, and every infusions increasing the time by 5 to 10 seconds)
Main Info
Number of Total Steepings: Over 5 strong infusions.
Aroma of Dry Leaves: Hay, Dates, Chicken broth.
Aroma of Wet Leaves: Camphor, and a bit of Eucalyptus.
Taste Profile: Qingxin butteriness, Dark Cocoa with a hint of Ginseng and Rose water. .
Texture Profile: Cardboard softness but with sticky minerality. .
Feeling/Aftertaste: Short and Crispy cinnamon, with a herbal finish.
Poetic Expression: “ As the night stars shine, Darkness comes out, shining and dancing like there is the second face.” The leaves used was a cultivar intended to be used for oolongs, but used in a fashion for making black tea can show the real character or the other potential that the plant holds.
Price: ON SALE 5 dollars/25 grams
Rating 7 out of 10.

The dry leaf of the Honey Scented Black Tea.

Jenny said that this tea was in fact created using oolong leaves, and making it in a traditional honey-black tea style so that the baked honey, the spices, and the special characters of the Qingxin varietal, blends out. My teacher from school actually asked me to make tea for the Foods and Fashion class, so I chose a Taiwanese black tea that may be easy for most people to appreciate. Friends told me that the soup tasted like pumpkin spice, and I kind of understood. Often at times people who are not very experienced at tea drinking can tell you more about the quality of teas because they have a very pure and clean pallet, and also their judgment is without bias or conceived ideas from previous experiences. I found that Grade 9 students actually enjoyed this tea because they prefer sweet teas, and I feel great that they loved it.

I was mainly impressed by the fact that it isn’t actually a black tea yet the farmer’s skill and determination to make quality tea made the subtle, very bright notes into something more dark, sweet, and rich. Oolong teas normally are very pungent, strong, and can be bitter, astringent, etc. However, this tea comes across very smooth, rich and fragrant at the same time. I have to say one thing, which is that this tea tends to require more time than the average Taiwanese Black or Oolong teas. I used 5 grams, and the first infusion which I did for around 15 to 20 seconds came out pretty light, but secure flavor. I actually liked the variety of different notes and characteristics that the tea can share with me, but I wish I could’ve experienced more honey, high notes, and fruits. Brown liquor, sweet, and on the spectrum of black teas, I would put this one more on the spicy side. It isn’t very malty, but is very chocolaty, and has more of a damp sweetness than is it high up on the nose. That is the only down point.

This is the tea liquor from the third infusion.

I should purchase some for next time and will be interested in brewing grandpa-style. This is when you leave the leaves inside the cup or tall glass and drink ¾ and adding water on top each time. This is because I feel that the tea doesn’t have much bitterness to it, so if its being brewed grandpa-style, we can enjoy very concentrated infusions and the thick honey aroma maybe more present. In conclusion, this tea did impress my friends and teacher, plus, I very much thought it was a very good everyday-type of Blackish/ Oolongish tea. ;p

Thanks to Jenny for letting me review this today! Visit her at www. oollotea.com